![]() ![]() A few dedicated modders gradually morphed into many, and Forgotten Empires took shape just like any other modding project - a loose collective that grew and contracted fluidly as people gained and lost interest or time, and which, through sheer force of will from its lead developers, eventually emerged as a somewhat coherent thing. The team came together through the AoE2 community in 2011 after lead designer Bert Beeckman and various others finally figured out how to add new civilisations to the game. I spoke to the team to find out about the challenges of transitioning from mod team to professional development studio, and of continuing to expand a game within its ancient limits. Forgotten Empires filled the game with new stuff and rebalanced the multiplayer in one enormous mod and then two HD expansions: The Forgotten and the recently-released African Kingdoms. It's gained new steam thanks in part to an official high-definition re-release but mostly due to the ragtag group of modders-turned-developers who made that release possible. But not only has Age of Empires II endured, it has thrived. Scant few games stand the test of time and retain a large active player base sixteen years after release.
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